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Arado Ar 96
The Arado Ar 96 was a German single-engine, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction produced by Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was the Luftwaffe s standard advanced trainer during World War II. Design and development Designed by Walter Blume as the result of a 1936 Reich Air Ministry tender, the prototype, powered by a 179 kW (240 hp) Argus As 10c engine, first flew in 1938. In 1939, an initial batch of Ar 96A aircraft was produced. This was followed by the major production series, the more powerful Ar 96B, fitted with the Argus As 410 engine. Operational history The Ar 96 was used for advanced, night and instrument flying training. Shadow production was undertaken by Letov and the Avia factory in occupied Czechoslovakia, where manufacturing continued for some years after the war, being designated C-2. A wooden version known as the Ar 396 was built in France and was designated SIPA SS.11. Further developments were the SIPA 111 (armed version), and SIPA S-12, a metal version. 58 Machines were produced until 1958. The S.11 was operated with some success in Algeria carrying machine guns, rockets and light bombs. Famously, during the evening of 28 April 1945, pilot Hanna Reitsch flew then-Luftwaffe head Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim out from Berlin under Soviet fire in an Arado Ar 96 trainer from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten. Variants ;Ar 96A :Two-seat advanced trainer aircraft. Initial production version. ;Ar 96B :Improved version. Main production version. ;Ar 96B-1 :Unarmed pilot trainer version. ;Ar 96B-2 : ;Ar 96C : ;Ar 296 :A proposed development of the Ar 96 with an Argus As 411 engine, abandoned in favour of the Ar 396 due to the use of non-strategic materials in the Ar 396 production. ;Ar 396A-1 :Single-seat gunnery trainer powered by an Argus As 411 engine, built largely from wood. ;Ar 396A-2 :Unarmed instrument trainer version. ;SIPA S.10 :French production version of Ar 396, 28 produced.Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. pg. 825. Portland House, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8 ;SIPA S.11 :Modified version of S.10,powered by Renault 12S (French built Argus As 411), 50 built for the French Air Force. ;SIPA S.12 :All metal version of S.11, 52 built for the French Air Force. ;SIPA S.121 :Modified version of S.12, 58 built for the French Air Force. ;Avia C.2B :Czech production version of the Ar 96B. Czech designation C.2B. 228 built by Avia and 182 by Letov between 1945 and 1950.Kudlicka 2004, pp. 45—46. Production figures up to 1945 Operators ; *Bulgarian Air Force - Bulgaria received two Avia C.2s in 1948.Kudlicka 2004, p.48. ; *Czechoslovakian Air Force operated Avia C-2 variant postwar. *Czechoslovakian National Security Guard ; *French Air Force (Postwar) ; *''Luftwaffe'' ; *Hungarian Air Force ; *Romanian Air Force ; *''Slovenské vzdušné zbrane'' Survivors *Arado Ar 96 B-1 - Deutsches Technikmuseum. Berlin, Germany. *Arado Ar 96 B-1 - Flyhistorisk Museum. Sola, Norway.Flyhistorisk Museum Sola Specifications (Arado Ar 96B-2) |prime units?=met |crew=2 |length m=9.1 |length note= :::Ar 396A-1: |span m=11 |height m=2.6 |height note= :::Ar 396A-1: |wing area sqm=17.1 |wing area note= :::Ar 396A-1: |empty weight kg=1,295 |empty weight note= :::Ar 396A-1: |max takeoff weight kg=1,700 |max takeoff weight note= :::Ar 396A-1: |more general= |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Argus As 410A-1 |eng1 type=inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine |eng1 kw=347 |eng1 note= :::Ar 396A-1: 1 x Argus As 411MA inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine |prop blade number=2 |prop name=variable pitch metal propeller |prop dia note= |max speed kmh=330 |max speed kts= :::Ar 396A-1: at |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh=295 |cruise speed note= :::Ar 396A-1: at sea level |range km=990 |range note= :::Ar 396A-1: |ceiling m=7,100 |ceiling note= :::Ar 396A-1: |climb rate ms=5.083 |time to altitude= :::Ar 396A-1: in 10 minutes 18 seconds ; |armament= 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun :::Ar 396A-1: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun + 2 x bombs on underwing racks }} See also * Miles Master *Ju 89 - *Ju 90 - *Ar 95 - *Fi 97 - *Fi 98 - *Fi 99 *List of Interwar military aircraft * List of aircraft of World War II * List of World War II military aircraft of Germany * List of military aircraft of Germany References Notes Bibliography * Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6. * Kranzhoff, Jörg Armin. Arado Ar 96 Varianten (Flugzeug Profile Nr. 43) (in German). Stengelheim, Germany: Unitec-Medienvertrieb, e.K., 2006. * Kudlicka, Bohumir. "An Arado By Other Names". Air Enthusiast, No. 111, May/June 2004. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. pp. 45–49. * Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7. * Smith J. R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2. * Ar 096 Category:1930s German military trainer aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Low-wing aircraft Category:SIPA aircraft Category:Avia aircraft